In their own words: AP journalists discuss their Pulitzer-winning work

Associated Press reporter Adam Goldman, center, smiles as he and former AP reporter Chris Hawley, left, and AP reporters Matt Apuzzo, second from left, and Eileen Sullivan, right, celebrate after being awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, Monday, April 16, 2012, in New York. They revealed a secret New York Police Department program that spied on Muslim neighborhoods. Joining them is their editor Ted Bridis, second from right. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

NEW YORK -- Associated Press reporters Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, Chris Hawley and Eileen Sullivan were named winners of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting for their months-long series outlining the New York Police Department's surveillance of minority communities since the 9/11 terror attacks.

Their reporting has sparked plenty of conversation over the past year, and their win has, too. In the following series of media interviews, the AP’s reporters and their editors have discussed their efforts, the origin of the series and why they’re proud to receive journalism’s highest honor:

Goldman spoke to Jeffrey Brown on the PBS “NewsHour” about the series. He explained how their reporting unfolded: “As far back December 2010 and January 2011 ... we started hearing terms we were unfamiliar with: ‘mosque-crawlers,’ ‘rakers,’ a demographics unit. And we set about trying to unravel what those terms meant.” http://to.pbs.org/Ja5uwV

Apuzzo appeared on NPR’s “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross. Until he and his fellow reporters started publishing their stories, few were aware that the NYPD’s monitoring program existed or that it had extensive connections to the CIA. As Apuzzo explained, “It was really an effort to build databases of where Muslims live, eat, work, shop and pray.” http://n.pr/I5ZFmR

Senior Managing Editor for U.S. News Mike Oreskes spoke to NPR’s “All Things Considered.” He told reporter Neda Ulaby: “This is one of the central debates facing the country right now. Where should we draw the line between freedoms and safety? And it is not an easy decision. And from our point of view as a newsgathering organization, it's not our job to decide where to draw that line. It is our job to help people with facts.” http://n.pr/I0KU19

Oreskes also spoke to Talking Points Memo about how the series came together. He noted “the most important technology in journalism is shoe leather.” bit.ly/Is1SHs

At a newsroom celebration at AP’s global headquarters in New York, Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll told staff: “The value for the AP, and for our journalism, is that [the AP team] uncovered a secret operation that no one would have known about ... and that is what I am most proud of.” bit.ly/IPV6ja